President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed poor forest management for the fires that have decimated parts of California in recent days and threatened to revoke federal assistance.

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” Trump tweeted. “Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!

“Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground,” Newsom tweeted. “Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up.”

Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up. https://t.co/sAZ3QULV8G

California Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice also responded to Trump’s tweet in a statement saying the president’s threat to withhold aid from fire victims was “ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.”

“The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong,” Rice said. “Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography.

“Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California,” he said.

In 2016, Butte County went 48 percent for Trump compared to 44 percent for Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton.

But the comment drew immediate ire on social media, with some people blasting the president for posting threats while fires across the state continue to destroy homes and take lives. Others pointed out that most forests are on federal land, and still others suggested the government should do more to address climate change, which scientists and fire experts say is a driving force behind the increase in devastating fires in recent years.

Fire officials in Butte County, where the Camp Fire recently became the most destructive fire in California’s history, are blaming low humidity, high winds and a lack of rain this November for helping spread the blaze at a ferocious speed. Problems with PG&E power lines may also have started the fire.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, rarely one to offer a rebuke of the president, did issue a statement saying the president’s remarks are ill-timed. LaMalfa spent Saturday surveying the damage, including in Butte Creek Canyon.

“Lack of forest management has been a longtime frustration, but threats about funding when we need help isn’t going to address our dire needs or speed the process,” LaMalfa’s statement said.

“The Camp Fire is the most destructive in modern California history. People have lost their lives, and countless homes and businesses. Getting this fire contained, evacuating and sheltering our community and eventually rebuilding are our first priorities. We all know there are massive forest management problems, historically on the federal lands but also on the state regulatory and litigation level.

“My staff and I have continually been on the phone with the White House, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) to ensure a prompt disaster declaration and that we have the resources needed. The President has been very helpful in those actions on this fire and previous crises, and I thank him for that. Right now, we need to pull together as a country and community to help each other. We can deal with fixing policy soon. I’ll welcome the President’s engagement on this issue.”

In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a wildfire safety bill that will devote $1 billion to reducing the risk of major wildfires across California by thinning forests and conducting prescribed burns.

Reached by phone Saturday morning, Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, which handles forest management, said of the president’s recent tweet, “It’s disappointing that he says these things.”

It’s not the first time the president has lashed out at the state over fires.

In August, Trump blamed California’s environmental laws for summer wildfires, suggesting they limited the availability of water for fighting the fires.

“We have plenty of water to fight these wildfires, but let’s be clear: It’s our changing climate that is leading to more severe and destructive fires,” Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director of Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency, said at the time.

During an interview with Breitbart News the same month, Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said “environmental terrorist groups” are preventing proper forest management and dismissed the argument that climate change is a major factor behind the increase in fires.